As computer systems have become more and more complex, it has become increasingly important to provide comprehensive diagnostic software for identifying malfunctioning components within computer systems. In some cases, computer vendors provide diagnostic software with new computer systems at the time of purchase. Alternatively, users may purchase a complete diagnostic software package at a retail store or through the Internet if they believe that their computer system is malfunctioning. There are, however, drawbacks to both of these methods for delivering diagnostic software to users.
When computer vendors provide diagnostic software with new computer systems at the time of purchase, they typically provide a CD-ROM or other type of media containing the diagnostic program to the user. While this delivery mechanism has been widely used, in cases where a user does not experience problems with their computer and therefore does not need the diagnostic program, the vendor is unnecessarily spending money to provide the CD-ROM to the user. Moreover, by the time a user actually needs the diagnostic program, the contents of the CD-ROM may be outdated due to hardware upgrades, updates to the computer operating system, or upgrades to the diagnostic software itself. While a user might be able to download an updated version of the diagnostic software, this can be very time consuming because the user will typically be required to download a large update to the entire diagnostic software package, rather than just a portion of the diagnostic program to test the malfunctioning hardware. Therefore, providing a CD-ROM or other type of media containing a diagnostic with the computer hardware at the time of purchase is a less than ideal solution for both the computer vendor and the purchaser.
One alternative to providing a diagnostic program with a computer at the time of purchase is to require that a user to purchase a diagnostic program when they need to test their computer. This solution, however, is also a problematic solution for users. In particular, comprehensive diagnostic software for testing each of the components within a computer system can be expensive. Moreover, in many cases a user just wants to test a few components in their computer system that may be suspected of malfunctioning. As a result, the user may never utilize many of the tests provided by the diagnostic program. In effect, therefore, the user is paying for software that they may never use. Moreover, if the user purchases a diagnostic software package but does not use the package for a long time, the package may become obsolete, requiring the user to download a large update or to purchase a new version altogether. Therefore, requiring users to purchase comprehensive diagnostic software packages is also not without its drawbacks.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.